Books
Stephen Alter
Becoming a Mountain is the story of the author’s Himalayan treks taken after he and his wife were brutally attacked. Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Sunday, March 22, 2015, 3pm
Thomas Bryant The Bainbridge-based automotive journalist discusses his new book, Mazda MX-5 Miata: Twenty-five Years. Eagle Harbor Books, 157 Winslow Way E., Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 Free Sunday, March 22, 2015, 3pm
Caryl Phillips
The Lost Child is his tenth novel and response to Wuthering Heights. Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Monday, March 23, 2015, 7pm
David Bonior The former Michigan congressional representative and author of Eastside Kid: A Memoir of My Youth from Detroit to Congress speaks on a panel on trade issues. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $5 Monday, March 23, 2015, 7:30pm
Jacqueline Winspear Masie’s journey home takes a strange turn in A Dangerous Place. (Also at Third Place Books 7 p.m.) Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St., Seattle, WA 98104 Free Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 12 – 1pm
Mary Doria Russell Nancy Pearl talks to her about her new historical fiction novel, Epitaph, about the Wild West and 19th century politics. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98105 Free Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 7pm
Seattle Poetry Slam Local poets share their verse and spoken word compositions. 21 and over. Rebar, 1114 Howell StreetSeattle, WA $5 Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 8 – 11:30pm
Brandon Mull
Crystal Keepers is the third installment in the best-selling Five Kingdoms fantasy series. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way N.E., Seattle, 98115 Free Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 7pm
Carol Cassella The author and practicing anesthesiologist sets her new book Gemini in Seattle, where her main character works at Beacon Hospital. ParkPlace Books, 348 Parkplace CenterKirkland, WA 98033 Free Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 7pm
Marie-Rose Phan-Le
Talking Story: One Woman’s Quest to Preserve Ancient Spiritual and Healing Traditions is her companion to an award-winning film. (Also at Third Place Books 7 p.m. Thurs., March 26.) Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 7pm
James Hannaham In his new Delicious Foods, a widow finds herself separated from her son on a mysterious farm. Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Thursday, March 26, 2015, 7pm
Luis Alberto Urrea The prolific author (The Hummingbird’s Daughter, The Devil’s Highway, etc.) discusses his craft. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $12 Thursday, March 26, 2015, 7pm
•
Emerald City Comicon If you didn’t get a ticket in time for this enormous, totally-sold-out gathering, don’t worry. Simply standing outside the convention center is an entire show unto itself, thanks to our city’s incredibly dedicated cosplayers. If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like to see the entire Avengers squad and a random assortment of Final Fantasy characters walk to The Cheesecake Factory together, this weekend is your chance. (They might even let you join them for fried macaroni-and-cheese balls.) But if you did manage to score tickets, you’ve got a lot to be excited about. This year’s celebrity guests are stacked: Anthony Daniels (C-3PO from Star Wars), Finn Jones (Game of Thrones), Charisma Carpenter (Buffy), Hayley Atwell (Captain America), and Gina Torres (Firefly) will all be hanging out to realize your nerdiest wet dreams. Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy, will be selling Seattle-themed Hellboy shirts, and Dark Horse will offer Seattle-specific cover variants for its Lady Killer series, featuring fish monsters floating around Pike Place Market and characters posing in front of the Space Needle. COLLECT THEM ALL AND STUFF THEM INTO AS MANY FREE TOTE BAGS AS YOU CAN FIND! KELTON SEARS Washington State Convention Center, 800 Convention Pl., Seattle, WA 98101 $35 Friday, March 27 – Sunday, March 29, 2015
J.A. Jance J.A. Jance’s new book Cold Betrayal is about a woman facing two very strange and dangerous crises. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St., Seattle, WA 98104 Free Friday, March 27, 2015, 12pm
Deborah Bacharach Her new collection of poems, After I Stop Lying, features women dealing with the mundane. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way N.E., Seattle, 98115 Free Friday, March 27, 2015, 6:30pm
Lucy Knisley The graphic novelist discusses her two recent releases on Fantagraphics, An Age of License and Displacement.
Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Friday, March 27, 2015, 7pm
Paige McKenzie Paige McKenzie is the teen star of the popular web series Haunting of Sunshine Girl; this is her eponymous debut book. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98105 Free Friday, March 27, 2015, 7pm
Blaine Harden
The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot is the latest from the Seattle journalist about the rise of Kim II Sung, North Korea’s founding dictator. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $5 Friday, March 27, 2015, 7:30pm
Lon Cole The Puyallup poet shares inspiring poems from this new collection, Alive and Thankful: Life is a Gift.
University Book Store (Bellevue), 990 102nd Ave. N.E., Bellevue, WA 98004 Free Saturday, March 28, 2015, 2pm
Nelson George The author of The Death of Rhythm & Blues and The Hippest Trip
in America: Soul Train and the Evolution of Culture & Style reads from his new mystery novel, The Lost Treasures of R&B. Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Saturday, March 28, 2015, 7pm
George Baxter-Holder
Drugs, Food, Sex and God is his journey of drug addiction and recovery. Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Sunday, March 29, 2015, 3pm
Naomi Novik Her twist on the classic fairy tale, Uprooted, is about a wizard named Dragon, who requests something strange in return for protecting a small village. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98105 Free Monday, March 30, 2015, 5:30pm
•
Barney Frank Some critics are complaining about the lack of dish, gossip, and sex in Frank: A Life in Politics From the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $28). The former Massachusetts congressman doesn’t need such Kardashian shit to sell books. He’s a serious guy who doesn’t want to relive that one long-past scandal about the rent boy, and he’s got a real legislative record-including the Dodd-Frank bill, now under Wall Street/GOP assault-that reflects an insider’s knowledge of how deals are brokered in D.C. One reason he left in 2013, of course, is that it’s so hard to strike a deal with today’s hyperpolarized political climate, with our elected representatives in constant cable-shouting/fundraising mode. His memoir is packed full of pragmatic political lessons. He’s a centrist-not the same as a moderate-and an incrementalist. And he’s not a fan of feel-good parades and Democrats flying their freak flags high. “If you care deeply about an issue,” he writes, “and are engaged in group activity on its behalf that is fun and inspiring and heightens your sense of solidarity with others, you are almost certainly not doing your cause any good.” Try putting that on a banner or protest sign. Tonight, local writer Eric Liu will lob onstage questions at the famously smart, prickly pol. BRIAN MILLER University Temple United Methodist Church, 1415 N.E. 43rd St., Seattle, WA 98105 $27 Monday, March 30, 2015, 7pm
•
Kazuo Ishiguro I haven’t yet cracked its spine, but the highly anticipated The Buried Giant (Knopf, $26.95) is going in my bag to read on a coming vacation flight to Montana (the first time I’ll ever wish that were a longer flight). The British novelist had his first great success with 1989’s The Remains of the Day, which earned a Booker Prize and inspired a very successful film adaptation. More recently, his Never Let Me Go had a sci-fi aspect to it; and now after a 10-year gestation, The Buried Giant is a somewhat mythical story, set in England’s legendary, dragon-filled past, in the time after King Arthur. There, an older couple embarks upon a dangerous foot journey to find their long-lost adult son. Equally, the quest of Axl and Beatrice leads them through their own marital memories and nervous anticipation of death and the afterlife. Their path necessarily puts one in mind of Tolkien, though the magic and spells and curses (one causing amnesia) are grounded in mortal decay and some historical fact. The land is divided between Saxon invaders and British natives, and the embers of past conflict threaten to burst into flame. Still, realism only runs so far: Sir Gawain makes an appearance, and Querig the dragon does eventually arrive. (Also note a $40 ticketed breakfast event with the author, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at Ravenna Third Place.) BRIAN MILLER Seattle Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104 Free Monday, March 30, 2015, 7pm
Peter V. Brett
The Skull Throne is the latest in his Demon Cycle series. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98105 Free Monday, March 30, 2015, 7pm
John Hargrove The star of the documentary Blackfish and former SeaWorld employee provides more depth to the film in his book, Beneath The Surface. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $5 Monday, March 30, 2015, 7:30pm
Robin Oliveira She reads in celebration of I Always Loved You’s paperback release. Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Tuesday, March 31, 2015, 7pm
Laurence J. Brahm The economist and activist lawyer discusses his new book Fusion Economics. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $5 Tuesday, March 31, 2015, 7:30pm
Seattle Poetry Slam Local poets share their verse and spoken word compositions. 21 and over. Rebar, 1114 Howell StreetSeattle, WA $5 Tuesday, March 31, 2015, 8 – 11:30pm
James Stark
Love in the Time of Cholesterol is a collection of short fiction that explores America in the decades of the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98105 Free Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 7pm
Thomas McGuane
Crow Fair is his new collection of short stories set in Montana. Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 7pm
Eric Greitens
Resilience is a new book from the Navy SEAL and humanitarian. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $5 Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 7:30pm
NORWESCON A science fiction and fantasy convention with guests of honor George R. R. Martin, Julie Dillon, and Amy Mainzer. Doubletree Sea Tac Airport, 18740 International BlvdSeattle, WA 98188 $70 Thursday, April 2, 2015, 8am
Emily Nagoski The woman behind the popular sex blog “The Dirty Normal” brings us Come as You Are.
University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98105 Free Thursday, April 2, 2015, 7pm
Jim Moore The poet discusses his new humorous collection, Underground, with Seattle poet Martha Silano. Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Thursday, April 2, 2015, 7pm
David Boaz
The Libertarian Mind is an updated edition of Libertarianism: A Primer on libertarian philosophy. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $5 Thursday, April 2, 2015, 7:30pm
Scott D. Sampson The host of PBS’s Dinosaur Train discusses his book How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $5 Thursday, April 2, 2015, 7:30pm
Judith Roche and margareta waterman The two poets read from new collections All Fire, All Water and denouement. Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Friday, April 3, 2015, 7pm
Rae Armantrout The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet reads from her new collection, Itself.
Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 See website for details. Friday, April 3, 2015, 7pm
Seattle Poetry Slam Local poets share their verse and spoken word compositions. 21 and over. Rebar, 1114 Howell StreetSeattle, WA $5 Tuesday, April 7, 2015, 8 – 11:30pm
